All posts by Sudbury Rowing Club

Sudbury Rowing Club held their annual regatta on Saturday with crews travelling from far and wide to compete.

Although entries were slightly down on previous years, the day was packed with exciting races in all categories from Juniors to Masters, single sculls to sprint eights. There were also four adaptive rowers, including Sudbury members Luke Payne and Sophie Brown, who competed against adaptive scullers from Marlow and Twickenham, who are trialling for the GB para-Olympic team.

The 650 metre course always proves a challenge to visiting crews and sometimes even the most accomplished crews get caught out by the bend.

In the Open Coxed four event, Stephen Nichols, Tim Hysom , Paul Adams, Lee Adams and Helen Sharp (cox) lost in their heat, again by a canvas.

The Women’s Masters C/D/E coxed four of Maria Vigneau, Sharon Wright, Jen Ward, Sophie Lovegrove and Bev Goodchild (cox) had to make up a five second handicap and managed to gain on their opposition, but not enough to win.

In the Men’s Open double sculls event Antony Moule stepped in at the last minute to race with Stuart Horn (Ipswich RC), where they lost by a canvas in their heat.

Helena Griffiths and Freya Evans raced in the Women’s Junior 17 double sculls event where they lost to Broxbourne RC, who went on to win the event.

In the Women’s sculls event Jen Titterington made it through two rounds to the final, where Norwich won by half a length.

The only success of the day came from Amelia Moule in the Women’s Junior 17 single sculls event. Handling the conditions very well she beat St Ives by 5 lengths, Peterborough by 2 and a half lengths and Doncaster Schools by 3 lengths.

The next event will be Sudbury Regatta on Saturday 4th August, where spectators are welcome throughout the day on Friars Meadow.

Four members of the junior squad competed at the British Rowing Junior Championships held at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham.

Amelia Moule raced up a year in the Girls Junior 18 single sculls event, finishing the 1500 metre time trial in 19th position out of a field of 37 scullers. Her time of 6.46 secured her a place in the D final. All finals are raced over the full 6 lane, 2000 metre course and Amelia raced well and led for most of the race but couldn’t manage to hold on to the lead but finished in second place in a very good time time of 9.26 – an overall finishing position of 20th in the country.

Byron Bullen also raced up a year in the Junior 18 single sculls event finishing the time trial in a time of 5.52 out of a field of 36, securing a place in the C final. He raced well to finish in fifth place in a time of 8.50 – 17th in the country.

Byron Bullen also doubled up with Sam McLoughlin to race in the Junior 18 double sculls event. They finished their time trial in a time of 5.37 in 12th place out of 18 in the category. This gained them a place in the semi final where they finished in 6th place in a time of 7.51. They then went on to complete the B final in a time of 7.55 having a very fast last 500 meters coming through the field to take third position, 9th in the country.

Martha Bullen competed in the Girls Junior 15 single sculls event where she had a very good time trial finishing in 2nd place out of 29, in a time of 6.31. In the semi final Martha finished in second place in a time of 9.07 which was enough to make the A final later in the day, where she finished in 4th position achieving a very good time of 9.18.

The junior squad competed extremely well at this high profile event in very hot conditions, and alongside the best juniors from all over the country.

The next event for Sudbury will be St Neots two day Regatta this week before the Sudbury Regatta on the 4th August.

17 members of the adult and junior squads took to the water at St. Ives Regatta on a long and sunny summer Saturday. There were six victories in total.

Morgan Moriarty went one better than last year and won the Open Men’s single sculls category. He then took to the water with his brother Gareth Moriarty to win the Open Men’s double sculls category against a strong crew from Lea RC.

On the junior side Martha Bullen won a close race in the Women’s Junior 16 category and Amelia Maskell competed up a category to win the Women’s Junior 17 category. Martha and Amelia combined forces to win the Women’s Junior 16 double sculls category as well.

St Ives had also laid on a special ‘Primary’ category for ladies who had never competed before. SRC ladies squad members Poppy Grosch and Jackie Lloyd won two races in this category to claim their first pots and the sixth victory for SRC on the day.

Other members competing were Nell Belcher, Freya Evans, Helena Griffiths, Byron Bullen, Sam McLoughlin, Owen Moriarty and Henry Tullin from the juniors and Teresa Moriarty, Tracy Muir, Jeremy Milbank and Sean Moriarty from the adult squad. There were strong performances and close finishes for some of these members too.

Sean Moriarty raced in a single scull at a regatta for the first time, then competed with wife Teresa as they doubled up for the first time and pushed an experienced Mixed Masters E double scull from Peterborough City all the way to the line.

On the same weekend, Jen Titterington competed with her regular doubles partner from Ipswich Rowing Club, Bev Goodchild, at Henley Women’s Regatta. The regatta is held over three days, over a distance of 1500 meteres, on the Henley Royal Regatta course.

On the Friday morning, all 38 of the competitors in their event, Aspirational Double Sculls, completed a time trial. The fastest 16 crews from this race went through to the heats on Friday afternoon, where the Ipswich/Sudbury crew beat Cantabrigian in a time of 5:59.

On the Saturday they raced against a Mexican crew from ‘Club Espana’. This was a much closer race, but the IPS/SRC crew came from behind to win by 3 1/2 lengths in a time of 5:38.

On Sunday morning they competed in a semi-final against opposition from Nottingham RC. This was again a much closer race, and very hard fought, but the Ipswich/Sudbury crew eventually won by 1/2 length, in a time of 5:27.

Sadly, in the final that afternoon, the Suffolk pairing were beaten by a crew from the Netherlands, from KSRV Njord.

Although they didn’t quite get the win they were aiming for, competing in a final at Henley Women’s Regatta is a tremendous achievement, and the crew were both keen to thank everybody who had helped them during such a successful season.

Sudbury Rowing Club recently participated in the National Masters Rowing Championships at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham.

The 2-day event, over a 1000m course, saw the Men’s Masters C crew of Lee Adams, Tim Hysom, Stephen Nichols, Paul Adams and cox Helen Sharp race firstly on the Saturday in the Non-Championship final, an event for anyone who hasn’t ever won at the regatta previously.

The Sudbury crew raced against York, Avon, Milton Keynes, Cantabrigian and Curlew rowing clubs. From the start it quickly turned into a 2 boat race as Sudbury and Curlew pulled away from the others into a strong head wind. At the 500m mark, Sudbury were ahead and Curlew tried a push but were held off by the Sudbury crew who took the win.

Sunday, the men raced again, this time in the Championship race, against Newark and Minerva Bath. Again, there was a strong head wind, but Sudbury pushed hard and pulled away from the Newark crew, chasing Minerva. At the half way mark Sudbury put in a big push and started to put Minerva under pressure, however they stayed strong and pushed away for the line. A good second place for Sudbury.

The Ladies’ Quad of Rosemary Hogsbjerg, Teresa Moriarty, Sarah Watts and Tracy Muir had a good race, coming home in 3rd place. The ladies then split into two doubles, Hogsbjerg and Watts racing first, in tough conditions coming home in a disappointing 5th place. Moriarty and Muir then raced and came from behind to finish 5th in their race too.

All crews are keen to thank the club coaches who have helped them: Terry Gostling, Bob Howard, Chris Jillings and Tony Hogsbjerg.

The girls Junior quad of Amelia Maskell, Helena Griffiths, Martha Bullen and Amelia Moule raced at Peterborough Spring Regatta on Saturday, racing over 1000 metres on the four lane course.

They competed in the Women’s Open Coxless quad event where they won their heat in a time of 3.36. In the final, against Peterborough RC, Leeds RC and Leicester RC, the Sudbury crew had a very strong race to finish in first place in a speedy time of 3.27.

The second win of the day was Byron Bullen in the Junior 18 single sculling event. He won his heat in a time of 3.43 which secured him a place in the final. His opposition crews from Cambridge 99, Notts CRA and Nottingham RC were out sculled by the Sudbury sculler who won in a time of 3.47.

Other crews to race were Helena Griffiths in the Women’s Junior 15 single sculls event, where she finished third in her heat in a time of 4.37, unfortunately missing out on a place in the final.

Sam McLoughlin raced in the Junior 16 single sculls event finishing his heat in a time of 4.01 just missing out on the final.

He also doubled up with Byron Bullen to compete in the Junior 18 double sculls event where they rowed well in the final, rowing past Rob Roy RC to take second place in a time of 3.36.

The girls Junior 16 double scull of Martha Bullen and Amelia Maskell finished second in their final in a time of 3.57 behind a very strong Leicester crew.

The Junior 14 double scull of Fergus Grant and Harry Moule finished third in their final in a time of 3.59.

Jen Titterington raced in a composite crew with Bev Goodchild from Ipswich RC in the Women’s Double sculls event. They won their heat in 3.56 to secure a place in the final, where they came a very close second, 0.9 of a second behind a crew from Bath.

The two scullers also competed against each other in the Women’s single sculls event. Goodchild won her heat in a time of 4.00 and Titterington came second in her heat, also in a time of 4.00 both meeting in the final together with scullers from Bath University. The Ipswich sculler finished in fourth place in 4.12, Sudbury finished in third place in 4.06.

In the Women’s Junior 18 single sculls event Amelia Moule finished second in the third heat in a time of 4.12, taking her through to the repechage. After a good, solid scull she won the race well ahead of her opposition to gain a place in the final. The opposition crews from St. Ives, Durham School and Isle of Ely were very strong but the Sudbury sculler had a superb race with the final result showing a second place finish in a very fast time of 4.02.6, only 0.6 of a second behind the Junior GB sculler from Isle of Ely.

The second day of the Peterborough Spring Regatta was attended by Senior and Masters crews.

The only win of the day came from the Men’s Masters C coxed four of Lee Adams, Tim Hysom, Stephen Nichols, Paul Adams and Helen Sharp (cox), who won their final in a time of 3.32, ahead of Bedford RC, London Otters RC and York RC.

The Men’s Masters D eight finished second in the final in a time of 3.24, two seconds behind the winners from York City RC.

The Masters E double scull of Robin King and Simon White came second in their heat and third in the final in a time of 3.56.

The Masters F double scull of Mike Arnott and Sean Moriarty came third in the final.

Last weekend saw a great performance from a very young J18 quad at the high profile junior event, National Schools Regatta at Dorney Lake.

Amelia Maskell, Martha Bullen and Amelia Moule were joined by Helena Griffiths when a hamstring injury meant that Freya Evans had to withdraw from the crew a few days before the race. The crew had to complete a time trial over a 1750 metre course where only 18 of the 39 crews would proceed to the 2000 metre finals.

The Sudbury crew completed the trial in a time of 6.41 securing a place in the C final where some very spirited sculling and determination saw them overcome a local rival crew from Kings School Ely, Cambridgeshire in the last few strokes, in a time of 7.44, to finish 16th in the country.

The Women’s Double Scull of Bev Goodchild (Ipswich RC) and Jen Titterington raced at Nottingham City Regatta at the weekend, over 2000m.

On a windy day, and in the elite ‘Women’s Band 1’ category, they were beaten by local opposition from Nottingham Rowing Club, but recorded a personal best time in the process.

Later in the day, and in significantly more challenging conditions, they raced again in the Open Women’s Double Sculls event, and after a decisive first half were able to survive the rolling waves to record another win.

Sudbury Rowing Club attended the Ball Cup Junior Regatta, Eton Dorney and competed on the 2012 Olympic Rowing course. The 750 metre course was six lanes wide and conditions were near perfect.

Harry Moule and Fergus Grant had their debut race in the Junior 14 double sculls category. They rowed very well to win their heat, taking them into the final where they found themselves against some very strong crews. They rowed well together, finishing in fourth place.

Fergus also paired up with Owen Moriarty to race in the Junior 15 double sculls event where they finished fifth in their heat.

Harry Moule also competed in the Junior 13 single sculls event where he had a very strong heat, finishing in second place. His time was quick enough to take him into the final where, again, he had some strong competition. The first four crews were battling it out for the medal positions but Harry came a very close fourth, just missing out on a bronze medal.

Owen Moriarty competed in the Junior 15 single sculls event. Although he finished fourth in his heat, he achieved an admirable time which took him into the final. He raced well to finish in fifth position.

The first medal of the day came from Gareth Moriarty and Henry Tullin in the Junior 18 double sculls event. There were three crews in the straight final and the Sudbury crew battled it out for gold medal position but just missed out on gold, taking a silver medal for their efforts.

Amelia Moule raced in the Girls Junior 17 single sculls event where she won her heat convincingly. In the final, she was in second place for most of the race but her strength really showed when she managed to row past her opposition in the closing stages, securing a win and earning a gold medal.

Amelia Maskell competed in the Girls Junior 16 single sculls event which was a straight final with four crews racing. The Sudbury sculler overcame her nerves to take the gold medal.

Martha Bullen and Helena Griffiths both competed in the Girls Junior 15 single sculls event. Martha Bullen was the winner of heat 1. Helena Griffiths came second in heat 3. Both girls achieved good times which secured them places in the final. Another exciting race, which saw Martha finish strongly to take the gold medal. Helena also raced well to finish in fifth position.

Byron Bullen had to wait all day for his race – a straight final in the Junior 17 single sculls event. Byron took a while to get into his race and was sitting in third place for the first half. With his supporters urging him on, he started to gain on his opposition, and rowed into second place, taking the silver medal.

The Girls quad of Freya Evans, Martha Bullen, Amelia Maskell and Amelia Moule raced in the Junior 18 category and had a straight final with six crews. The Sudbury crew didn’t have the best start but settled into their rhythm and used their power to propel them past their opposition. They couldn’t quite reach the finish line first but managed silver medal position.

Coach Antony Moule was extremely pleased with the results – 3 gold medals, 3 silver medals with everyone, even the younger, less experienced, reaching the finals. Every Crew showed commitment and determination and should be very proud of their results.

The next event will be National Schools Regatta held at the same venue.

On a stormy and cold April 29th our two para rowers sculled on the world famous Henley Royal Regatta stretch of the River Thames.

The event was hosted by the prestigious Phyllis Court Club, taking place over a 620 metre course, running upstream from Upper Thames Rowing Club and finishing at the Phyllis Court Club flagpole.

We were delighted to be invited along with only four other clubs to compete in this, the most important and inclusive time trial event in the rowing calendar for para rowers and their able bodied doubles partner rowers.

Our para rowers Sophie Brown and Luke Payne, closely watched by Sophie’s dad and our adaptive co-ordinator Angela, competed very ably despite the weather. River conditions were more akin to rowing on the sea and a far cry from our sheltered River Stour. The marquee took off. Hats blew off. Nonetheless, Sophie who loves this stretch of water, rowed the course three times and both Luke and Sophie agreed that it was a great day. Course times for everyone will be very helpful as a benchmark for the new regatta season.

During the day we also received much encouragement from other clubs. They all also competed in supported doubles together with their own able bodied club members in specially modified double sculling boats. By the end of the day we had gained the expertise to achieve this for Sudbury. Next year we hope to be back with a stronger squad of both singles and supported doubles.